Swasthani memories

Reading Swasthani is a family reunion. Aside from the hectic daily schedule, everyone from the family gathers everyday at night to listen the story from the book, which normally stays in 'puja ghar' except during the reading season.

Here are some of the activities you did as a child that can make you nostalgic about the reciting session:

Prasad
Swasthani is all about ‘Prasad’ for kids. Some of us attended and waited for the day’s story to end for just to eat ‘prasad’, which is given at the end of the story.

Short nap
Reading and hearing Swasthani is a night duty. So, there was that big yawn and eventually, a short nap until one of the family members wakes us up.

Reciting
Sometimes, one would be asked to recite the story in advance. Some of us easily rejected the offer while some of us delivered because of the family’s frequent insistence. So, there was that fun to see “the one who agreed” stammer during the story.

Staying ‘chokho’
Everyone must be pure while reading the story. If somebody coughs or sneezes in a middle, he/she must wash his hands to stay ‘chokho’.

Understanding
Swasthani is an amalgam of Sanskrit and Nepali language. On the one hand, Sanskrit is hard to understand and on the other, the Nepali recitation is fast. Hence, understanding the story is really hard for the first-timer.